When Jorge Soler hit his first two home runs against Cincinnati, one thing was readily apparent: Soler was no longer over-torquing his back swing. He is big and strong enough to make a normal short stride swing to clear the fences.
This is in stark contrast to last season's call up where Soler (as well as Javy Baez, and then Starlin Castro falling into the habit) of overswinging to generate 16 inch softball hitter power.
Soler has made an adjustment, something hitting coach John Mallee tried with Baez.
Mallee, 45, begins his fifth season as a major league hitting coach, his
first with the Cubs. He previously served as a big league hitting coach
with the Marlins (2010-11) and Astros (2013-14). Overall, Mallee has 19
seasons of experience in pro baseball. Prior to moving to the big
leagues, he spent eight-plus seasons as the Marlins minor league hitting
instructor. A Chicago native, Mallee also served as a minor league
hitting coach within the Brewers and Expos organizations starting in
1996. He spent two seasons as an infielder in the Phillies system from
1991-92.
In spring, Mallee was trying to get Baez to adjust his swing, especially during an at-bat. He wanted Baez to shorten his swing, "to allow him to stay in the hitting zone longer," as well as closing the huge holes in a long, loopy swing. Baez did make those adjustments in batting practice, but admitted that during games he would go back to his old ways. His old ways got him a surprising demotion to Iowa.
And maybe that demotion was a wake up call to the young players to listen to their coaches.
Joe Maddon has a very laid back approach to dealing with his players. He lets them prepare for games in their own ways and routines. He will only speak to them when he needs to speak to them. Maddon is more a funny uncle motivator than a hands-on teacher. He is trying to keep his team loose and relaxed even though the season started with a continuation of bad fundamentals and lack of plate discipline.
Confidence is something that has to be turned on inside a person's head. Success is the fuel for self-confidence. Being confident at the plate means a batter will get more pitches and then better pitches to hit.
If Mallee has converted Soler into a more standard hitting posture and mechanics, that bodes well for the team because Soler needs to be a confident and consistent presence in the middle of the order.
